As the clock strikes three it's always time for tea here in the Dollymix office, and as we move towards Frugal February we're working on cutting out the expensive shop-bought tea and coffee, and learning to create our own delicious brews instead. But if all you've got to work with is an office kettle, some teabags and a short break between deadlines, there's little time for a tea ceremony. How can you create a delicious drink to perk you up without specialist equipment?
How to make the perfect cup of tea
1. Let it cool
Scientists have found that waiting until your tea has cooled down to 60 degrees will make it taste better than necking it straight away, as it allows the flavours to come through more strongly. In most cases, you'll need to wait a total of eight minutes for the tea to brew, and then to cool down to this optimum temperature.
Do it! After pouring on 200ml of freshly drawn boiling water, you should wait two minutes before gently removing the bag from the cup, rather than squeezing the life out of it for a quick brew as so many of us do. Then let it cool for six minutes, resulting in the total of eight minutes' cooling time.
The debate over whether to put milk in first or second when making a cup of tea has raged for decades, and is hugely bound up in matters of class and family tradition. But the scientific community has spoken, and it does appear that putting the milk in after the tea bag and water is the superior method. Exactly 10ml was stipulated in the study, conducted by researchers at Northumbria's School of Life Science.
In the name of research, the Dollymix team tried following these instructions step by step and can confirm that in terms of making ordinary tea-bag tea, this is as good as it gets. Enjoy!
Happiness is a cup of tea and a new magazine mug
we couldn't have put it better ourselves! Mug £17.95 at Emma Bridgewater